Social network game
A social network game is a type of online game that is played through social networks, and typically features multiplayer and asynchronous gameplay mechanics.The Social Network Game Boom by Sande Chen from Gamasutra (April 29, 2009)History of Social Games by Jon Radoff (May 24, 2010)The Odd Popularity of Mafia Wars by Lev Grossman from TIME (Nov. 16, 2009)Workshop: Game Design for Social Networks, Proceedings of the 13th International MindTrek Conference: Everyday Life in the Ubiquitous Era by Aki Järvinen from TIME (2009) Social network games are most often implemented as browser games, but can also be implemented on other platforms such as mobile devices. They are amongst the most popular games played in the world, with several products with tens of millions of players."Social network games catch the eye of computer giants" by Zoe Kleinman from BBC News (Nov. 2009) (Lil) Green Patch, Happy Farm, Wired|accessdate=10 September 2011|date=December 24, 2009|page=2}} ''Farm Town, YoVille and Mob Wars were some of the first successful games of this genre. FrontierVille, CityVille, Gardens of Time and The Sims Social are more recent examples of very popular social network games. While they share many aspects of traditional video games, social network games often employ additional ones that make them distinct. Traditionally they are oriented to be casual games. Companies that make social network games include market leader Zynga, Wooga, 5 Minutes, Playfish, Playdom, Kabam, Crowdstar, RockYou, Booyah and Row Sham Bow, Inc. Social games Dutch historian Johan Huizinga defines play as: :"Summing up the formal characteristic of play, we might call it a free activity standing quite consciously outside 'ordinary' life as being 'not serious' but at the same time absorbing the player intensely and utterly. It is an activity connected with no material interest, and no profit can be gained by it. It proceeds within its own proper boundaries of time and space according to fixed rules and in an orderly manner. It promotes the formation of social groupings that tend to surround themselves with secrecy and to stress the difference from the common world by disguise or other means."Huizinga, J. (1955). A Study of the Play-Element in Culture. Boston: Beacon Press. Note the mention of social groupings in Huizinga’s definition of play, indicating the importance of social factors in an environment of play. Social network games are games in essence, riding on some form of social network as the gaming platform. They follow the same game features as outlined by Jesper Juul:Juul, J. (2003). The Game, the Player, the World: Looking for a Heart of Gameness. Utrecht: Utrecht University. # Rules: Games are based on rules. # Variable, quantifiable outcomes: Games have variable, quantifiable outcomes. # Values assigned to possible outcomes: Games have different values assigned to different potential outcomes. # Player effort: The outcomes of games are influenced by the players’ effort. # Player attached to outcome: Each player of a game is attached to the outcomes. # Negotiable consequences: Games can be played according to the same rules with or without real-life consequences. Technology & platforms A social network video game can be created with any number of traditional video game technologies, however the majority are implemented in Adobe Flash, PHP or JavaScript. Some games may use a combination of these technologies. In some instances a Gamification aspect has been conjoined to a social networking video game to make technology more engaging by encouraging users to engage in desired behaviors and to solve problems by taking advantage of human's psychological predisposition to engage in gaming. A social network game is often played via a web browser, though they are distinct from browser based games in the way they leverage the player's social graph and individual user data that is hosted on the social network. With the invention of smartphone devices, social games have now also seen widespread adoption on mobile platforms such as iOS and Android devices. This is enabled through mobile social networks such as OpenFeint and through Oauth implementations by social networking sites like Facebook which allow applications on mobile devices to access a limited amount of protected user data on those sites. Through an in-app connection to these networks, users can be provided with an experience very similar to that of a web based social game. It's been predicted that social gaming will bring over 6 billion dollars in revenue, by 2013. Distinct features A social video game may employ any of the following features: *'Asynchronous gameplay' which allows rules to be resolved without needing players to play at the same time. *'Community': One of the most distinct features of social video games is in leveraging the player's social network. Quests or game goals may only be possible if a player "shares" his game with friends (connected via the social network hosting the game) or gets them to play as well as "neighbors" or "allies". *'No victory conditions': Since most developers count on users playing their games often, there are generally no victory conditions. That is, the game never ends and no one is ever declared "winner". Instead, many casual games have "quests" or "missions" for players to complete. This is not true for board game-like social games, such as Scrabble. *'Virtual currency': Social network games use "virtual currency", which players usually must purchase with real-world money. With the in-game currency players can buy upgrades that would otherwise take much longer to earn through in-game achievements. In many cases, some upgrades are only available via the virtual currency. The following table outlines common characteristics of social games, mentioned by Björk at the 2010 GCO Games Convention Online:Björk, S. (2010). Principles and patterns of social games: Where’s the difference compared to other games?. GCO Games Convention Online 2010. Leipzig. Engagement strategies Since social network games are often less challenging than console games and they have relatively shorter game play, they use different techniques to stretch game play and tools to retain users. Continuous goals: The games assign specific goals for users to achieve. As they advance in the game, the goals become more challenging and time consuming. They also provide frequent feedback with their performance. Every action will translate towards a certain goal that will be used to attain higher gaming capitals. Gaming capitals: Players are encouraged to earn different badges, trophies, and accolades that indicate their progress and accomplishments. Some achievements are unlocked just by advancing in the game while others may significantly alter the rationale behind the game and require extensive investment from players. The ways of gaining gaming capital are not limited to playing games but the games-related productive activities that are appreciated in the player’s social circle too. By accumulating gaming capitals, they provide an intrinsic benefit to gamers as they is an avenue to boost their accomplishment and showcase their expertise of the game. The achievements are visible to their network of friends. Gaming capitals are a way for developers to increase replay value provides extended play time, and players get more value from the game. Motivation for collecting gaming capitals: : 1. Legitimization: refers to society’s willingness to approve or condone certain behavior. Collecting is about channeling one’s materialistic desires into more meaningful pursuits. Game achievements serve a similar purpose, allowing players to justify the hours spent playing the game. :2. Self-extension: Gathering and controlling meaningful objects or experiences can work to gain one an improved sense of self. The collector’s goal to complete a collection is symbolically about completing the self too. Events timed to real world: Popular games such as Dragon City and Wild Ones require users to wait a certain time period before their "energy bars" replenish. Without energy, they are unable to conduct any form of action. Gamers are forced to wait and return after their energy replenishes to continue playing. Monetization Social network games frequently monetize based on virtual good transactions, but other games are emerging that utilize newer economic models. An example of is Empire Avenue, a virtual stock exchange where players buy and sell shares of each other's social network worth. In Empire Avenue, a player's worth is linked to his or her social media influence and activity, as well as that of the other players he or she has invested virtual currency in. This game design promotes social media interaction as a means to attaining higher value in Empire Avenue market rankings. Virtual goods Gamers will be able to purchase in game items like power-ups, avatar accessories, or decorative items users purchase within the game itself. This is realized by monetize products that don’t technically exist. Virtual goods account for over 90% of all revenue generated by the world’s top social game developers. Designers optimize user experience through additional gameplay, missions, and quests, without having to worry about overhead or unused stock. Advertising The following are common ways of advertising in social network games:How Zynga Makes Money. Retrieved March 31, 2012. Banner advertisements As banner ads within social networks tend to be where ad response is low, they tend to be priced at bottom-of-the-barrel CPMs of around $2. However, because social games generate so many page views, they are the biggest part of advertising revenue for the social gaming industry. Video ads Videos are the ad format with the most revenue per view. They tend to be higher-priced, either by CPMs ($35+ CPM in social games) or cost-per-completed-view. According to studies, video ads result in highest brand recall thus a good return on investment for advertisers. Video ads are shown either in in-game interstitials (e.g. when the game is loading a new screen) or through incentive-based advertising, i.e. you will get either an in-game reward or Facebook credits for watching an advertisement. Product placement A brand or product will be injected in a game in some way. Due to the variety of ways in which product placement can be accomplished in any media, and because the category is nascent, this category is not standardized at all, but some examples include branded in-game goods or even in-game quests. For example, in a game where you run a restaurant, you might be asked to collect ingredients to make a Starbucks Frappuccino, and receive in-game rewards for doing so. As these product placement deals are non-standard, they are largely charged with a production fee, which can be $350,000 to $750,000 depending on the type of placement and the popularity of the game. Sponsorship White label games Applications that are built once, then individualized and licensed again and again. Developer can create a quality app focused on fun while leaving the edges of the game open for branding. This allows developers to market their game to companies that can find new and interesting ways to bond with, expand, or sell to their audience. Social gaming as corporate promotion Large established corporations are using social gaming to build brand awareness and engagement. E.g. the Walt Disney Company’s Disney Animal Kingdom Explorers was developed to create awareness for Disney’s theme parks and also promote conservation. The gameplay is divided evenly between two main elements, finding hidden object and large assortment of animals, and also includes simulation for players to build their own nature preserve. Players are expected to work with friends to collect the necessary materials to grow their habitat, while the hidden object element set players to compete for the highest score in their social setting. Some large established video games developers are acquiring small operators to capitalize on the social gaming industry. For example, Walt Disney Company's purchase of Playdom, a social game developer, for $763.0 million and Electronic Arts' purchase of PopCap Games for $750.0 million in July 2011. Criticism Cow Clicker, created by Ian Bogost, was developed to highlight social games’ most exploitative and abusive aspects. The game requires users to click on a picture of a cow every 6 hours to earn points. It also prompts users to encourage friends to join in to help their gain more points. Cow Clicker was clearly designed to ridicule other social media games such as Farmville, yet fifty-six thousand users played it at its peak. The community also evolved and spawned similar games, garnered critical reviews and even gained a strategy guide. References External links * FoldingStory | The Group Storytelling Game * Official High Score Game | Make the highest score for your country Category:Online games Category:Social networks